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The Australian tennis star's aspirations of advancing to the ATP Finals last four are hanging by a thread after a gut-wrenching defeat in three sets to Lorenzo Musetti.

Devastating Loss in Turin

The world No 7 went down 7-5 3-6 7-5 after failing to serve out the match, keeping the Italian to remain in the tournament and now forcing the Australian requiring to decisively defeat Taylor Fritz in his third and final group match to reach the semi-finals.

Mental Demons Threaten Career

But facing Fritz in two days' time is the least of de Minaur's pressing worries as the Sydneysider admits he must confront the psychological barriers that risk undermining his career.

A unsuccessful competitor of all six of his grand slam quarter-final appearances, the twenty-six-year-old was unable to disguise his distress after suffering yet another high-stakes near miss with his tournament fate in his own hands.

"I don't know how many times I can deal with a loss like this one," de Minaur said in Turin. "I must talk to my team and try to sort out these issues because these are issues that can't keep happening."

Career Crossroads

"I mean, if I truly desire to be genuine about taking the next step in my career, these contests, I must win them. I just can't. It feels like I've lost a lot of them this year. More than anything, it's reaching a point where psychologically it's killing me."

Describing his feelings as "quite dark", de Minaur lamented a succession of final set collapses in 2025 and said he must discover methods to win the close matches.

Recent Disappointments

The Australia No 1's run of devastating defeats comprise:

• Latest 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) result against Alexander Bublik at the Paris Masters
• Closely-contested US Open quarter-final loss to Felix Auger-Aliassime
• Final four in Monte Carlo against Musetti
• Wasted two-set lead against Bublik at the French Open
• Defeated in a third-set tiebreaker to Andrey Rublev in the Doha semi-finals

"I keep putting everything into these matches," de Minaur commented. "When the result's not there, it's hard to keep persevering."

Immediate Solution Needed

"This is an issue that if it doesn't get sorted, it's going to consume me completely. I must get it sorted sooner rather than later."

Forthcoming Test

De Minaur and Fritz are 5-5 in previous encounters, though the American world No 6 emerged victorious in their matchup in this prestigious tournament last year.

The Australian's hopes remain alive after Fritz experienced a 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-3 loss to Carlos Alcaraz that guaranteed the Spaniard would advance to the semi-finals as the winner of the Jimmy Connors group.

Championship Consequences

The world No 2's win, having already knocked over de Minaur, put Alcaraz a single victory away of securing the year-end top ranking from Jannik Sinner.

Regardless if he loses to Musetti in his final group match, Alcaraz will reclaim the world No 1 ranking except if Sinner, who beat Auger-Aliassime in his opener on Monday, goes unbeaten to retain his ATP Finals title.

"I'll attempt not to focus on it," said Alcaraz. "It's going to be a really big match for me. I will try not to let the nerves play a negative role in the match. I will concentrate on my objectives, about feeling much better than today."